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State Street has won a $6bn (â¬4.6bn) mandate from The Merseyside Pension Fund to provide the county fund with custody, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange services.

John Parry, assistant director of finance at the Merseyside Pension Fund said: "State Street's commitment to the technology supporting the pension fund industry and their focus on risk controls were significant factors in leading us to award them the contract for global custody services."

The Merseyside Pension Fund, one of the most successful local authority schemes in the UK, was forced to outsource its assets in 2002 after Simon Edwards, chief investment officer, left to establish Midas Capital, an investment boutique backed by Liverpool University. He took Alan Borrows, senior investment manager and four other staff along with him.

During the five years when Edwards and Borrows managed the Merseyside scheme, they achieved top-quartile performance within the WM Performance Services league tables, an investment performance business run by State Street.